SAULT STE. MARIE, Ont. - About 40 natives from Batchewana First Nation in Northern Ontario blocked a railway Monday morning, protesting the Ontario government's upcoming HST.
Members of the band, standing beside a traditional lodge they placed on the tracks, waved signs and flags as a short four-car train came to a stop and turned back at about 9:15 a.m.
"We have been inconvenienced far too long and we hope that this little inconvenience will lead to more interaction with the Crown on the true fulfillment of our relationship that was set out by our ancestors and forefathers by all parties," Batchewana First Nations Chief Dean Sayers said.
Huron Central Railway rescheduled its trains because of the protest and did not plan on moving any more through the area Monday.
Natives in Ontario have not had to pay provincial sales tax for 30 years but that's to change under the new HST tax, which merges both the provincial and federal GST.
First Nation members receive exemptions from the federal GST for goods bought off reserve after filing their income tax returns.
They are vehemently opposed to paying the HST, arguing that the payment is a violation of their treaty rights.
Sayers said his members will continue to block the track until their demands are met.